[SFGP] Greenzine - Occupy forum next week, updated contractor position

Thu Mar 22 22:18:48 PDT 2012

Dear Greens,

     On March 28, instead of a regular meeting, we're hosting a panel
discussion on the future of the Occupy movement, and how electoral
politics might play a role.  Our panelists will include:

* Former Green Party mayoral and congressional candidate Terry Joan
  Baum.  Baum was the personal aide to the legendary Bella Abzug in
  her first run forCongress in Manhattan.  As a pioneer lesbian
  playwright, she has explored social issues such as gay rights,
  immigration, medical ethics and anti-Semitism.

* Activist Marc Salomon.  Marc got his start in politics by
  contributing $0.50 to George McGovern for President in 1972 and
  fighting against Christian prayer in the Schools in Dallas. After a
  Clintonian activist slumber when direct action ceased to be
  effective, he got involved with electoral politics in San Francisco
  as a Green and worked on several progressive successful candidate
  and ballot measure campaigns, most recently with Friends of Ethics'
  successful campaign against Props E and F last fall.  His policy
  focus is on Ethics and the intersection of transportation and land
  use and has served on the San Francisco Bicycle Advisory Committee,
  Community Land Trust Task Force, Transportation Focus Group co-chair
  of the Western SOMA Citizens Planning Task Force, the Transportation
  Effectiveness Project CAC and currently serves on the MTA Citizens
  Advisory Council.

* Current Green Party and labor leader Ramses Teon-Nichols.  Ramses
  has been active with the Green Party as a member of the county
  council in the last couple of years.  He is also active in both the
  Labor and Occupy movements.

* Occupy organizer and banking industry insider Jane Smith.  Jane is
  incensed at the lack of accountability for the economic crimes of
  the Federal Reserve, the banks, and the financial sector in
  general. As a result, she has been heavily involved in Occupy San
  Francisco since the movement began in September 2011. Jane has a
  masters degree in mathematics and works in the banking industry.

* Pagan community organizer and Occupy organizer since October 2011,
  Ryan Smith.  Ryan is a long-time Pagan community organizer which has
  given him a front row seat to the damage done by corporate America
  to society. He joined up with OSF in early October and has been
  involved in social media and online organizing for Occupy. Ryan has
  a bachelor's degree in history from SF State and does analysis for
  an IT company.

* Occupy organizer and DISCLOSE act volunteer Ben Hansell.  Ben was
  born in San Francisco and got a BA in History at UC Santa Cruz. He
  works full-time for the San Francisco Water Dept and volunteers for
  the CA DISCLOSE Act. He got involved in Occupy to get the money out
  of politics and to fight the concentration of wealth and power.

The panel will be co-moderated by former Green gubernatorial candidate
and Occupy Oakland organizer Laura Wells.

The panel will discuss, among other topics: Can the Occupy movement
use electoral politics (e.g., running candidates) to be more
effective?  Can smaller parties like the Green Party or Peace &
Freedom help the Occupy movement to be more effective?  What's next
for Occupy SF?

The forum will be held in the Park Branch Library meeting room, 1833
Page St, downstairs, from 6:30-9 pm (we may have to stop a little
early in order to clean up before the library closes at 9).

Details and updates here:

http://sfgreenparty.org/events2/event/MTdlMHA4YmcyZGMwdGc0Ym9kZXVjb2FlN28gOG51ZjNhajZ2M2UxNW40a282bGtka2tndWdAZw/1?start=1332984600&end=1332993600

*===========================*

LA Greens are back!

The Green Party in LA has made some impressive strides in organizing
lately, and are working on a major voter registration drive.  It's
worth watching and imitating, even for those of us up North!  Recent
Green Party convert, and former congressional candidate, Marcy
Winograd appeared on Sonali Kolhatkar's "Uprising" program on KPFK to
talk about it.  She was joined by Mike Malinin, drummer for The Goo
Goo Dolls, to discuss why they switched to the Green Party and about
their hopes for organizing this year.

Listen and read about it here:
http://uprisingradio.org/home/2012/03/22/green-party-offers-alternative-to-election-season-cynicism/

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Help needed to label GMOs

Please join fellow SF Greens in supporting the signature drive to get
a truly grassroots-driven initiative on the state ballot to label
genetically engineered foods (GMOs).

For more info, see:
http://sfgreenparty.org/10-campaigns/35-help-needed-to-label-gmos 

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Donate online!

We recently switched to a new payment processor, which makes it easier
to donate securely online, while keeping more of our donations going
to help our cause rather than ending up in the hands of Wall Street.

More info is on our website:
http://sfgreenparty.org/9-donations/34-donate-online

*===========================*

Paid contractor wanted: SF Green Party Fundraiser/volunteer coordinator
Part time independent contractor (1099) position

We recently updated our job ad:
http://sfgreenparty.org/help-wanted

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Join our updated Facebook Group:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_62534706497&ap=1

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